The Body Story Podcast

In this episode, Tiffany speaks with her good friend Bonnie about her journey through pregnancy after two miscarriages. Because this episode was recorded in February and released in July, there is a pregnancy update at the end you'll want to stick around for. Tiffany also shares a special announcement about Little Cuties. We need your help.

CONTENT: This episode contains discussions including menstruation, sex, fertility challenges, miscarriage, mention of abortion, grief, depression, and mention of marijuana. Listener discretion is advised.

In this episode, Tiffany speaks with Ella Bellefaire. Ella is an Intuitive Soulful Life Coach, Empath, Spiritual/Energy Teacher, and Chronic Illness Mentor whose purpose found her after she was diagnosed about 15 years ago with Chronic Neurological Lyme Disease and Acute mercury poisoning. Upon realizing & experiencing first hand a lack of support & validation for chronic illnesses—that are often invisible—she has made it her mission to assist in the healing & empowerment of those who are chronically ill.

CONTENT: explicit language, chronic illness, lyme disease and mercury poisoning, unintentional weight loss, near-death experiences, invisible illness, spiritual themes, depression, and anxiety

The Body Story Podcast is turning one! In honor of this milestone, Tiffany gives an update on the changes the show has undergone and babbles her way through a conversation with herself. Thank you for being a part of this amazing journey. Here's to another year of ending body shame!

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In this episode, Tiffany speaks with Misha Montoya. Misha is a lifelong student; a disability activist; the mother of a radiant ten-year-old son; a para-athlete, including adaptive rock-climbing, four-track skiing, mountain biking, and kayaking; a spiritual practitioner and a world-travelled lover of truth. Misha talks about her spinal cord injury, living in a disabled body, and what social expectations are placed on you when you have a visible disability.

CONTENT: details of a spinal cord injury, paraplegia, exploiting disabled bodies, ableism. Listener discretion is advised.

In this episode, Tiffany speaks with Marilyn Sorensen. Marilyn has been giving women permission to be the best authorities of their own body for more than 20 years. She teaches women how to increase their vitality, wellbeing, and self actualization by having daily, toe-curling vaginal and cervical orgasms that last for hours. She is a global citizen and currently lives in Kenya with her boys and Maasai Warrior.

CONTENT: This episode contains discussions including explicit language, mention of segregation, recounts of fat shaming, infidelity, weight loss, female genital mutilation, vaginal health, orgasm, and masturbation.

In this episode, Tiffany speaks with Kari Raquel, the host of the Soulful of it Podcast and co-founder of the mindfulness community, Affirmation Destination. She lives in Portland, Oregon, and believes in the development of authentic positivity through mindfulness practices that work in alignment with the law of attraction. Her guiding affirmation is, "I lift others up as I, myself, rise." We discuss female pattern baldness and hair toppers: what they are, and how wearing one has affected Kari's self confidence and expression. 

CONTENT: This episode contains discussions including explicit language, microaggressions, alopecia and female pattern baldness, and bowel movements. Listener discretion is advised.

In this episode, Tiffany speaks with Clarissa aka @clarissatalks. Clarissa became a body-positive advocate and plus-size influencer on Instagram through her journey to discovering her own love within herself. She is also a filmmaker who wants to break barriers in the film industry and start her own production company that is inclusive for plus size women to tell their stories. We discuss how having a knee injury led her to pursue treatment for an eating disorder and weight loss surgery.

CONTENT: medically recommended weight loss, weight loss surgery, binge eating disorder, recounts of body shaming. 

In this episode, Tiffany speaks with Lila Jones aka Mermaid Lila, a Marine Biologist, professional mermaid, creator and program coordinator for the National Association of Underwater Instructors mermaid program, and Owner of Mermaid Dream Retreats. We discuss what it's like to be a mermaid, Lila's spiritual experiences that led her to pursue her current path, and how mermaiding has helped her heal from past traumas.

CONTENT: explicit language, emotional eating, diet culture, workplace harassment, PTSD, anxiety, depression and mention of suicidal thoughts, spiritual themes, and narcissistic abuse. 

In this episode, Tiffany speaks with Zach Shubert, an artist living and working in Florida. Their work focuses on topics of gender, sexuality, and identity. Zach's primary art medium is printmaking, though their studio practice is very diverse. We discuss their alter-ego, Maeve Devi, a female boudoir model expressing physical vulnerability on social media.

CONTENT: explicit language, recounts of transphobia, sexual harassment on the internet, themes of masculinity and femininity, and the gender binary. 

In this episode, Tiffany speaks with with Mo Bengoa. You may remember Mo from our first season, when they shared their experience with gender dysphoria. Since we last heard from Mo, they have undergone tubal ligation surgery, commonly referred to as getting one’s tubes tied. Today we’ll talk about how that procedure has changed the way Mo lives their life. 

CONTENT: explicit language, gender dysphoria, tubal ligation surgery, IUDs, menstruation, metaphysical and spiritual themes, pain during sex, vaginal health, body trauma recovery, and bowel movements. 

In this episode, Tiffany speaks with Skylar Schank. Skylar is a student at Western Washington University’s Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies. They are concentrating their studies on Legal Advocacy and Social Activism, under the “Law, Diversity and Justice” Program at Fairhaven. They have been “out” as queer since 2012, and “out” as transgender since 2016. We discuss their journey through their identity and its relation to their body.

CONTENT: explicit language, recounts of transphobia, the gender binary, political themes, privilege, and gender dysphoria. 

In this episode, Tiffany speaks with Lena Dirscherl, aka BoPoLena, the artist that inspired me to start drawing body-positive Little Cuties. Lena was born and raised in Nuremberg, Germany, and studied design at the University Georg Simon Ohm. Since 2014 they've been officially working as a freelance illustrator, and in August 2016, they started posting a body positive illustration on Instagram every week. The whole thing started as a small personal side project that has grown into a huge part of their life.

CONTENT: disordered eating including binge eating and anorexia, compulsive exercising, weight gain, internalized fatphobia, body dysmorphia, mild body dysphoria, and mild gender dysphoria. 

It's our SEASON FINALE! Join Tiffany and her faithful TBSP Team: Tiffany's husband and our editor, Daniel Vogt; our producer, Amanda Rae; and our creative producer, Emily Fisher, as they discuss their own winter experiences and the results from our online polls about bodies and their relationships to the holiday season.

CONTENT: This episode includes discussions including explicit language, diet culture, disordered eating, including bingeing and purging, and bulimia, mental health, and family trauma. Listener discretion is advised.

In this episode, Tiffany speaks with with Sarah Frederiksen. Sarah is a photographer and mother who has improved her life after experiencing emotional trauma. We discuss what it’s been like for her to find herself again after an abusive relationship and what it's like to have a child with her abuser. Sarah and Tiffany both experienced abuse at the hands of the same man, and discuss the similarities and differences in their healing journeys.

CONTENT: Explicit language, emotional abuse, rape, domestic violence, unwanted pregnancy, mention of abortion, cheating, sexual harassment and assault, mention of suicidal thoughts, resentment of a child, descriptions of sexual acts, menstruation, stalking and dissociation. Listener discretion is advised. 

In this episode, Tiffany speaks with with Kayla Wall. Kayla is a Licensed Veterinary Technician, Animal Activist, Vegan, and Founder of Orlando Farm Rescue. She grew up in a dysfunctional, poor family, and when she was younger, a family member molested her. She battled with shame, issues with men and sex into her adulthood. Now able to talk about her story, she shares how she has healed herself from sexual trauma and how she’s learned to love herself again.

CONTENT: incest, sexual abuse, child abuse, physical abuse, pedophilia, slut shaming, attempting suicide, alcoholism, self harm, substance abuse, sex after trauma, alternative healing practices, and the #metoo movement. Listener discretion is advised.

In this episode, Tiffany speaks with with Christiana Herbert, an intuitive channel who helps people understand their divinity while embracing their humanity. She lives in Chicago near a magical park with her husband and daughter. We discuss the expectation that women will "snap back" to their pre-pregnancy body, Christiana's experience in the modeling industry, and how skinny-shaming is as harmful as other kinds of shaming.

CONTENT: Dissociation, skinny shaming, pretty shaming, spiritual themes, unhealthy attention-seeking, disordered eating, the modeling industry, pregnancy and childbirth, genital surgery, labiaplasty, and weight gain. Listener discretion is advised. 

In this episode, Tiffany speaks with with  Jillian Landis. Jillian is a self-worth and relationship coach, as well as a family law mediator practicing in Boise, Idaho. She also hosts a podcast called Braveheart Conversations, which explores the art of love through brave and compassionate communication. Jillian is passionate about empowering others to practice self-love and honor in all relationships. We discuss what it was like to grow up in a hyper-modest culture, becoming a bodybuilder, and how she learned that her clothing choices didn't make her a sexual object.

CONTENT: Sexualization of children, religious themes, recounts of rape culture, modesty, explicit language, body building culture, disordered eating, compulsive overexercising, food relationships, and unsolicited male attention. Listener discretion is advised. 

In this episode, Tiffany speaks with with Nicole Conejo, a Costa Rican girl that has been working on her acceptance with her body, and through it, has actually found herself and who she really is. We discuss what it's like to find clothing in Costa Rica when you're curvy, how body positivity looks in her part of the world, and the journey she's taken to accept herself as she is.

CONTENT:  Recounts of body shaming, mention of abortion, recounts of fatphobia, weight fluctuations, weight loss, binge eating or emotional eating, and food relationships. Listener discretion is advised. 

In this episode, Tiffany speaks with with Kayla-Leah Rich, the regional director with the global non profit Days For Girls, which provides menstrual hygiene health and sustainable products to those in developing countries. Kayla-Leah is also a TEDxBoise speaker and emcee, the author of Purple Crayon Confidence, and a mother to four boys. Her TEDx speech, "The Cost of Menstrual Shame," has gained her notoriety as the period lady.

Learn more about National Period Day at www.period.org/nationalperiodday

CONTENT: Menstruation, blood, menstrual shame in developing countries, menstrual cups, poverty and menstrual care, menstrual euphemisms, mention of sexual favors in exchange for supplies, and birth control. Listener discretion is advised. 

In this episode, Tiffany speaks with Rev. Dr. Angela Yarber, the Executive Director of the Holy Women Icons Project, a non-profit seeking to empower marginalized women by telling the stories of revolutionary holy women through art, writing, and special events. She holds a PhD in Art and Religion with an emphasis on the role of women's bodies in world religions. Angela is also a retired professional dancer, award-winning author, artist, and queer clergywoman. Affirming and celebrating the body is a big part of her folk-feminist iconography, intersectional feminist writing, and the retreats and courses she teaches.

CONTENT:  Recounts of queer discrimination, anorexia, bulimia, compulsive over-exercising, body dysmorphia, recounts of fatphobia, heavy religious themes, and mention of pornography. Listener discretion is advised. 

In this episode, Tiffany speaks with Remijio Mendoza, a student at Eastern Washington University studying Psychology and Ethnic Studies with emphasis on indigenous and Latinx identities. As a queer Latino, Remi is a strong believer that peoples’ identities play a pivotal role in our relationships with the cultural and systemic structures we surround ourselves with.

CONTENT: gender roles, gender identity, gender expression, gender spectrum, masculinity, white privilege, experiences of racism and colorism, depression, white passing, immigration, the relationship between weight and health, and serious topics discussed in a lighthearted manner concerning gender identity but still handled with care. Listener discretion is advised. 

In this episode, Tiffany speaks with Brooke Lacey, producer and host of Mental Illness Life, a podcast about living successfully with mental illness. Brooke talks about how having bipolar affects her body image, what it was like to have breast reduction surgery, and living with mental illness. 

***CONTENT*** explicit language, Bipolar I, PTSD, sexualization, sex, pretty shaming, weight fluctuations, internalized fatphobia, and in-depth descriptions of breast reduction surgery. Listener discretion is advised.

In this episode, Sammi Tucker shares how she lost her arm in a motorcycle accident, and how it was a turning point in the way she lived her life and thought about her body. Sammi is a mindset coach, and brings some great tips to listeners to live in their truth and learn what's best for them.

***CONTENT*** This episode contains discussions of body dysmorphia, body shaming, recounts of fatphobia, spirituality, body-mind connection, weight loss, graphic recounts of bodily trauma, amputation, disability, and near death experience. Listener discretion is advised.

In this episode, Lynda Wolters shares her experience as a cancer patient, and how her body story has evolved as she's gone through the physical changes that come with cancer and chemo.

***CONTENT*** This episode contains discussions of bulimia, internalized fat-phobia, terminal cancer, body dysmorphia, and weight fluctuations. Listener discretion is advised.

In this episode, Eden Ganya shares her experience of learning to love her nose as a black woman living in America surrounded by white beauty standards. 

***CONTENT*** This episode contains discussions of family dysfunction, abuse, spirituality, internalized racism, racial tension, the 2016 election and presidency. Listener discretion is advised.

In this episode, Lindsey Luna shares her story of healing her adult acne from the inside out  and learning to love her dark body hair.

***CONTENT*** This episode contains discussions including body shaming, mention of trauma, mention of mental illness, and mention of dysfunctional family life. Listener discretion is advised.

In this episode, Jenn shares her experience with weight-loss surgery, gaining the weight back, and finding where self love truly comes from.  

***CONTENT*** This episode contains explicit language, discussions of weight loss surgery, weight gain, parenting and weight talk, and food and diet relationships.  

In this episode, Jonathan Stratton shares his experience of being a man in the age of body positivity.

***CONTENT*** This episode contains discussions of weight gain, food and diets, recounts of fat phobia, religion, familial relationships, military culture, body shaming, and political affiliations. 

In this episode, McKenzie Olver shares her experience of seeking medical care while living in a larger body, as well as what it's like to work with a body-positive trainer.

***CONTENT*** This episode contains discussions including: explicit language, disordered eating, and recounts of fatphobia. 

In this episode, Mo Bengoa shares their experience of gender dysphoria, a condition of feeling a conflict between feeling a person's physical gender and the gender with which they identify.

***CONTENT*** This episode contains discussions including: explicit language, body dysmorphia, gender dysphoria, gender shaming, food & diet, and spirituality. 

In this episode of The Body Story Podcast, Amanda Rae shares her experience with dysmorphia, dissociation and disorders after growing up in an intense belief system.

***CONTENT*** This episode contains discussions of: body dysphoria, body dysmorphia, dissociation, sexualization of children, sexual abuse and disordered eating. Listener discretion is advised.